Aspiriant LLC Raises Stock Position in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)

Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,807 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Novartis were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Novartis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Novartis in the second quarter worth $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Novartis by 73.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Novartis during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novartis during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 13.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NVS. Barclays raised shares of Novartis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America downgraded Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $121.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of Novartis in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Novartis in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Novartis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.70.

Novartis Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NVS opened at $117.18 on Friday. Novartis AG has a 1 year low of $92.19 and a 1 year high of $120.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.90. The company has a market cap of $239.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Novartis had a net margin of 33.76% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Novartis AG will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

About Novartis

Novartis AG engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers prescription medicines for patients and physicians. It focuses on therapeutic areas, such as cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, as well as ophthalmology and hematology.